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Florida Football: Why 2019 shouldn’t be College Football Playoff or bust

By Briley Hughes

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 22: Chauncey Gardner-Johnson #23 of the Florida Gators celebrates the win with his teammates and fans after the game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Florida won the game 47-21. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 22: Chauncey Gardner-Johnson #23 of the Florida Gators celebrates the win with his teammates and fans after the game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Florida won the game 47-21. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
(Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /

2. Improve the offense into a top-10 unit

Increasing offensive potency and consistency is also a necessity in 2019. No doubt, Florida’s offense took an impressive leap last year in almost every vital statistical category.

The Gators finished 22nd in the nation in scoring per game in 2018 after finishing no higher than 100th under Jim McElwain. Passing and rushing yards per game rose exponentially. Sacks allowed plummeted.

Even the advanced analytics loved the offensive improvements. The exhaustively detailed offensive ranking system, the S&P+ Rating from Football Outsiders, pegged Florida’s offense 21st in the country in 2018, an improvement from 108th overall in 2017 – a major turnaround, indeed.

Yet, consistency eluded the offense for weeks at a time. All three of Florida’s losses last season came when they scored fewer than 20 points (they did beat Mississippi State while only scoring 13 points), and two of those offensive washouts (Georgia and Missouri) came in back-to-back weeks.

The Gators also experienced halves of offensive drought similar to the first half against Vanderbilt and South Carolina. Barring epic comebacks in each of those games, offseason discussions would be far less positive. And really, the offense never constantly clicked until the final four games of the season – when they scored at least 35 points in each of those contests.

Florida needs to break into the top-ten offensively in 2019 and pair a more reliable, consistent, explosive offense with their always solid defense.

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